An NRI hailing from Nakodar in Jalandhar, is among three persons, booked for allegedly opening fire and injuring a man outside the KFC restaurant in Kharar on late Wednesday night.

An NRI hailing from Nakodar in Jalandhar, is among three persons, booked for allegedly opening fire and injuring a man outside the KFC restaurant in Kharar on late Wednesday night.

The police have booked Talwinder Singh alias Tally, a British passport holder, and two other unidentified persons, for attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, along with various sections of the Arms Act.

The complainant, Manveer Singh alias Dimple, is a resident of Samrala in Ludhiana district. The injured has been identified as Jaswinder Singh alias Billu, who works with Manveer in a bhangra troupe in Samrala. Jaswinder was admitted to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh, following the incident.

In his complaint, Manveer told the police that he had gone to meet Talwinder at KFC in Kharar to settle a loan that his former employee, Shweta of Zirakpur, owed him.

Manveer told the police that Shweta was employed with him for the past four years as a dancer with his troupe. Meanwhile, she had visited England in November 2012 for a short while, where she became friends with Talwinder.

The complainant claimed that he had given a loan of Rs 2 lakh to Shweta, which she had failed to return despite him visiting her Zirakpur house several times. He said he went to Shweta's house on March 12 again, but she was not home.

Later, she called up Talwinder and told him Manveer was harassing her and her family, he alleged.

Thereafter, Talwinder called up Manveer to meet him at KFC to settle the loan. Manveer alleged that he reached the restaurant with his two friends, where after a minor argument Talwinder fired at him, due to which his employee, Jaswinder, sustained injuries.

“The accused have been identified and teams have been dispatched to arrest them. We have also issued a look-out notice and alerted all airports so that Talwinder cannot escape,” said Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, senior superintendent of police (SSP), SAS Nagar.

He said the Toyota Fortuner used in the crime bore a temporary number and had been traced to Patiala.

Spate of firingsThis is the second firing incident in SAS Nagar in less than a fortnight, making trigger happy persons a cause of concern.

Police in 2012 had registered 23 cases under the Arms Act as against 14 cases registered in 2011, while this year, till date two cases of firing have been reported from SAS Nagar.

There are 5,393 arms licence holders in the district. Though the police have recommended cancellation of about 380 licences in the past one year, the process is cumbersome.

Firing incidents in the past yearFebruary 27, 2013: Advocate Amarpreet Singh was shot dead, while his cousin and a friend were injured in a firing incident. Nine were booked, of which four have been arrested.

September 27, 2012: A head constable, Nissan Singh, an inebriated condition fired three gunshots in the air from his official weapon in Phase 7.

September 5, 2012: Four gunshots were fired in Phase 5 market following a minor argument among two groups. A resident of Madanpura village sustained minor injuries in the scuffle.

August 8, 2012: A man and his two sons, residents of Phase 6, were arrested under the Arms Act for opening fire.